Sunday, June 19, 2011

On Thursday morning “Good Morning America” served up some tear-jerking, feel-good TV with the story of the beauty queen who was saved from a fiery car crash by a passing truck driver.

20-year-old Madeline Mitchell is described lovingly by “GMA” as “the pretty Alabama girl who loved horses, cheerleading and most of all, beauty pageants.” She was about to compete in the Miss Alabama USA pageant when in September 2008, she lost control of her car while driving and plummeted into a 40-foot ravine, her car catching on fire.

In what the clip describes as a miracle, Walmart truck driver Gary Lewellen passed by just seconds after the accident, pulled over, used a fire extinguisher and called for help.

Mitchell was in a coma for 12 days after the accident, suffering from multiple injuries. But, as “Good Morning America” so poignantly puts it, “Her right leg was shattered in 12 places, but left unbroken was the dream that had seemed all but lost: to be Miss Alabama USA.”

In November, Mitchell was crowned Miss Alabama USA and will compete this Sunday in the Miss USA pageant. But before that, “Good Morning America” reunited her with a good luck charm — Lewellen.